Mitt Romney is doubling down on the now-infamous rejection of a fiscal policy deal that would provide $1 in new taxes for every $10 in spending cuts.

During a Republican primary debate last August, all GOP candidates — including Romney — said they would reject a hypothetical proposal to trade $10 in spending cuts for $1 in tax increases.

“I do feel that way,” Romney said in an interview broadcast Sunday on the CBS program “Face the Nation”, defending that stance.

We’re in a two party system and without SOME cooperation from the members of the opposite party, it’s almost impossible to get anything done. The Democrats love tax increases and hate spending cuts. That’s why it seems very unlikely that we’re going to get 5-6 lefties in the Senate to sign onto large spending cuts or entitlement reform without some tax increases for them as a face-saving maneuver. So, would I take 50 billion in tax increases in say 2014 for 500 billion less in spending that same year? You betcha because the alternative probably wouldn’t be say, 400 billion in cuts and no tax increase, it would be no cuts or even an increase in spending.

Given that we probably only have 5-15 years before we default, if the Democrats are willing to make large budget cuts in return for small tax increases (something they haven’t been willing to do in the Obama years), it would be in the country’s best interests for the GOP to take them up on the deal.